The Old Guard 2 Review: Same Axe, No Edge

Netflix’s The Old Guard 2 is a flat sequel with dull action, weak stakes, and none of the magic that made the original a hit.

Netflix reported that 78 million households tuned in during its first four weeks, making it one of the platform’s most successful original launches and the seventh-most-watched straight-to-streaming title of 2020. Maybe it was the pandemic haze and scarcity of fresh content, perhaps it was Charlize Theron wielding an axe like a war goddess, but either way, it worked and made a case for more.

Unfortunately, more is exactly what we got. In The Old Guard 2, more feels like a curse. It’s a low-energy, low-stakes, and somehow even lower-effort sequel cobbled together with a bigger budget and significantly less inspiration. Completed back in 2022 but delayed by everything from set fires to Netflix’s internal reshuffling, the sequel drags itself onto the streaming platform looking like it barely survived the trip. Despite the extra resources and years of post-production, the end result feels cheaper, emptier, and weirder, like a bootleg version of a franchise that has barely begun.

The film drops viewers right back into the action, with Andy (Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road) and her team of immortal warriors fighting with renewed purpose in the midst of a mission to protect the world. While Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts, A Bigger Splash) remains in exile after his betrayal, newbie Nile (KiKi Layne, If Beale Street Could Talk) has stepped up and filled his shoes and then some. Joe (Marwan Kenzari, Aladdin) and Nicky (Luca Marinelli, The Eight Mountains) remain brothers in battle and partners in everlasting life, and corporate ally Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave) continues to be a real-world connection for the eternal warriors.

When ancient antagonist Discord (Uma Thurman, Oh, Canada) reappears after centuries, freeing Quỳnh (Vân Veronica Ngô, Da 5 Bloods) from the nightmare of the underwater prison that has held her for 1500 years, it lights a fuse for revenge and a quest for redemption. As Andy enlists the help of ancient eternal Tuah (Henry Golding, Crazy Rich Asians) for answers to unlocking the mystery behind immortal existence, Discord and Quỳnh enact a plan for the walls to slowly close around the tight-knit group, leading to a grand battle that will test how far into the unknown they are willing to travel for the truth to their powers.

It sounds exciting to recap. It isn’t in execution. From the opening action sequence, a ten-minute blur so clumsy and poorly filmed it resembles behind-the-scenes footage, something feels fundamentally broken. Oscar-winner Theron, someone who usually emerges smelling like a rose no matter how big of a stinker she’s in, appears to want to be anywhere but in this film. Instead of channeling potential frustration over George Miller leaving her out of Furiosa and going total badass, she’s unnaturally subdued, infrequently waking up to go through the motions in battle sequences that should sizzle with the brawler energy she brought to Atomic Blonde (where’s THAT sequel?) or the original The Old Guard.

KiKi Layne, another performer I usually admire, seems to have dialed in from a different time zone. Nile is supposed to be coming into her own as an immortal, but the script gives the character (and Layne) nothing substantial to sink her teeth into. The characters played by Ejiofor and Schoenaerts seem to have lost their purpose, getting lost in the louder narrative noise surrounding them. This ruckus swallows up Golding before he has the chance to make any impact at all. Kenzari and Marinelli return as Joe and Nicky, the LGBTQ+ immortals who have been together for centuries. Still, their characters needed something more to help further define them as individuals rather than just a couple. Credit goes to Marinelli for putting in extra effort to differentiate his half of the relationship from Kenzari’s less confident performance, though too often they’re pushed aside for Theron’s reconciliation with Ngô’s Quỳnh.

The film’s central relationship between Andy and Quỳnh should have been the emotional core, exploring 1500 years of shared history before Quỳnh’s oceanic imprisonment. When Quỳnh emerges waterlogged with rage, discovering Andy walked free without searching for her, there’s legitimate grievance to explore. Unfortunately, Ngô and Theron generate zero chemistry as former old friends (possibly more?) turned enemies. Their scenes together, which consume considerable runtime that could be better used fleshing out the character arcs of the ensemble, feel like two beautiful statues arguing in a museum, lifeless despite the high stakes. While the film deserves credit for hinting at a deeper romantic connection without spelling it out, these moments get buried beneath layers of mediocrity.

The lone bright spot comes from Thurman, who gnaws the scenery with delicious purpose as Discord. Equal parts Kill Bill‘s Bride and Batman & Robin‘s Poison Ivy, she’s clearly having fun, relishing her villainous turn with campy dialogue that would sink lesser performers. Packing a punch with her physicality and the way she punctuates her eye-rolling lines, the movie reaches peak LOL during flashbacks of her 1500 years in the past. Dressed in medieval garb, it’s hard not to snicker when you see her Amazon height, shiny blonde hair, and clean appearance standing next to extras with dirty faces, oily hair, and missing teeth.

Behind the camera, Victoria Mahoney takes over directing duties from Gina Prince-Bythewood, whose sure hand helped elevate the original. Mahoney made waves as the first American female director invited to compete for Berlin’s Golden Bear in over sixty years with her feature debut, Yelling to the Sky, showcasing her ability to handle complex character dynamics. Unfortunately, nothing in her background suggested readiness for a globe-trotting action sequel, and that inexperience shows. Mahoney brings her vision to Rucka’s continued story, but it’s either chaotic or inert, with little middle ground. The film feels rushed, unpolished, and strangely static. It’s as if The Old Guard 2 were ashamed to be an action film, embarrassed by the spectacle it created in 2020, and wanted to turn its back on where it came from.

There’s one inspired moment (a tracking shot that follows Theron’s character as she mentally drifts through centuries while walking a modern street) but it’s a lone standout. Barry Ackroyd’s cinematography gives the film a waxy, over-processed look, the kind you’d expect from those bargain-bin action thrillers filmed in Bulgaria starring once-bankable names like John Travolta, Mel Gibson, or Morgan Freeman. Every set piece feels flat and artificial. Matthew Schmidt’s editing chops the story into jarring fragments, making an already thin plot feel incoherent. The entire production has a direct-to-DVD vibe, which is baffling considering this is a high-profile Netflix sequel made in direct response to fan demand, with a rumored budget of $80–90 million, no less.

The music, a growing asset to rousing action epics, doesn’t make the grade either. Gone are the sweeping, emotional cues of Volker Bertelmann and Dustin O’Halloran. In their place, Steffen Thum and Ruth Barrett offer a generic score that could have been lifted from a discount trailer pack or first-person video game. O’Halloran & Bertelmann work well together, and Bertelmann has won an Oscar for All Quiet on the Western Front since the first film, making his absence keenly felt. Production design from Paki Meduri feels equally tacky, with flat sets and blank windows allowing copious amounts of mediocre green screen to fill the gaps.

On the upside, the movie does make a continued effort to normalize queer relationships in genre storytelling, maintaining respectful LGBTQ representation. Joe and Nicky’s relationship remains at the forefront in spirit, if not in substance. And while it’s never stated outright and is not enough to redeem their scenes, the connection between Andy and Quỳnh clearly runs deeper than platonic, hinting at a centuries-spanning romance gone sour. It’s a shame those moments are buried beneath so much mediocrity.

The Old Guard 2 represents a botched sequel that squanders the goodwill of its predecessor. What once felt bold and fresh now plays like an obligation. You can feel the weight of its tortured post-production history; Netflix’s regime changes reportedly shut down editing for months, in every frame. Netflix gambled on a franchise, but instead of building on a hit, they’ve delivered a dull, vastly inferior follow-up. The ending teases more to come, but unless the third film is already edited, locked, and ready to drop, I don’t see this cast or this story rising again. Some things should stay immortal. This isn’t one of them.

The Old Guard 2 will be available to stream globally on Netflix from July 2, 2025.